Conversion in Turkish : an overview

This paper presents an overview of possible cases of conversion in Turkish. I argue that apparent cases of conversion between nouns and adjectives are cases of syntactic transposition, and apparent cases of conversion between nouns/adjectives and verbs are end products of phonological changes in the history of the language, which resulted in pairs of lexemes that are formally identical synchronically, but not historically. This does not mean that no cases of morphological conversion can be traced in the language. I will present two cases of secondary word-class conversion from derived, inflected and uninflected words to toponyms which might be taken as instances of morphological conversion or derivation by zero-affixation

New terrestrial cyanobacteria from the Azores Islands: description of Venetifunis gen. nov. and new species of Albertania, Kovacikia and Pegethrix

The taxonomy of cyanobacteria has advanced quickly with the use of molecular methods in combination with well-defined morphological and ecological characters. Using this approach, many taxonomical changes have occurred in the Synechococcales and Oscillatoriales, with the description of new families, genera and species. Here we present the study of four cyanobacterial strains from the Bank of Algae and Cyanobacteria of the Azores (BACA) culture collection, all isolated from the Azores Archipelago. The strains were genetically characterized through the amplification of the 16S rRNA gene and 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, as well as morphologically by light and transmission electron microscopy. One of the strains presented a high genetic divergence from known genera of Synechococcales and was described as Venetifunis florensis gen. & sp. nov. (Trichocoleusaceae, Cyanobacteria). The remaining three strains were found to be new species of the genera Albertania, Kovacikia and Pegethrix. Venetifunis florensis was isolated from the shores of Lake Rasa in Flores Island, Kovacikia atmophytica sp. nov. is a new species mainly distinguished genetically from other Kovacikia species from Terceira Island. Albertania obscura sp. nov. was isolated from inside a volcanic cave in Terceira Island and is distinct both morphologically and genetically from the already described species. Pegethrix atlantica sp. nov. is a new morphologically and genetically different species isolated from São Miguel Island. The description of these new taxa increases the biogeographic knowledge of the four mentioned cyanobacterial genera to remote oceanic islands and new terrestrial habitats

TAXONOMIC RESOLUTION OF THE GENUS CYANOTHECE (CHROOCOCCALES, CYANOBACTERIA), WITH A TREATMENT ON GLOEOTHECE AND THREE NEW GENERA, CROCOSPHAERA, RIPPKAEA, AND ZEHRIA

The systematics of single‐celled cyanobacteria represents a major challenge due to morphological convergence and application of various taxonomic concepts. The genus Cyanothece is one of the most problematic cases, as the name has been applied to oval‐shaped coccoid cyanobacteria lacking sheaths with little regard to their phylogenetic position and details of morphology and ultrastructure. Hereby we analyze an extensive set of complementary genetic and phenotypic evidence to disentangle the relationships among these cyanobacteria. We provide diagnostic characters to separate the known genera Cyanothece, Gloeothece, and Aphanothece, and provide a valid description for Crocosphaera gen. nov. We describe two new genera, Rippkaea and Zehria, to characterize two distinct phylogenetic lineages outside the previously known genera. We further describe 13 new species in total including Cyanothece svehlovae, Gloeothece aequatorialis, G. aurea, G. bryophila, G. citriformis, G. reniformis, Gloeothece tonkinensis, G. verrucosa, Crocosphaera watsonii, C. subtropica, C. chwakensis, Rippkaea orientalis, and Zehria floridana to recognize the intrageneric diversity as rendered by polyphasic analysis. We discuss the close relationship of free‐living cyanobacteria from the Crocosphaera lineage to nitrogen‐fixing endosymbionts of marine algae. The current study includes several experimental strains (Crocosphaera and “Cyanothece”) important for the study of diazotrophy and the global oceanic nitrogen cycle, and provides evidence suggesting ancestral N₂‐fixing capability in the chroococcalean lineage

Historische Pragmatik

›Historische Pragmatik‹ bezeichnet ein eigenständiges Teilgebiet der Pragmatik, das sich seit den 1990er Jahren stark entwickelt und ausdifferenziert hat. Es befasst sich im Wesentlichen mit pragmatischen Fragestellungen an historischem Sprachmaterial. Fragen der Sprachverwendung werden zusammengebracht mit Fragen der historischen Linguistik zu früheren Sprachformen, zur Entwicklung von Sprache und Sprachen und somit ganz generell zu den Fragen des Sprachwandels. Die historische Pragmatik setzt in den meisten Fällen ein Verständnis von Pragmatik voraus, bei dem es ganz wesentlich auch um den sozialen Kontext der Sprachverwendung geht. Dieses Verständnis von Pragmatik wird oft unter dem Begriff ›Soziopragmatik‹ subsumiert und orientiert sich nicht unwesentlich an Arbeiten in der Soziologie und Anthropologie

Interleukin-17A

Interleukin-17 contributes to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and chronic periodontitis (CP). We analyzed IL-17A −197A/G and IL-17F +7488C/T polymorphisms in T1DM and CP and determined their associations with IL-17 production and occurrence of periopathogens. Totally 154 controls, 125 T1DM, and 244 CP patients were genotyped using 5′ nuclease TaqMan® assays. Bacterial colonization was investigated by a DNA-microarray kit. Production of IL-17 after in vitro stimulation of mononuclear cells by mitogens and bacteria was examined by the Luminex system. Although no differences in the allele/genotype frequencies between patients with CP and T1DM + CP were found, the IL-17A −197 A allele increased the risk of T1DM (P<0.05). Levels of HbA1c were significantly elevated in carriers of the A allele in T1DM patients (P<0.05). Production of IL-17 by mononuclear cells of CP patients (unstimulated/stimulated by Porphyromonas gingivalis) was associated with IL-17A A allele (P<0.05). IL-17A polymorphism increased the number of Tannerella forsythia and Treponema denticola in patients with CP and T1DM + CP, respectively (P<0.05). IL-17A gene variability may influence control of T1DM and the “red complex” bacteria occurrence in patients with CP and T1DM + CP. Our findings demonstrated the functional relevance of the IL-17A polymorphism with higher IL-17 secretion in individuals with A allele

On Spanish Dvandva and its restrictions

As noted by Bauer, real dvandva compounds –that is, coordinative compounds that properly express the aggregation of two different entities, not the intersection of properties in one entity– are extremely rare in English or Spanish. This article explores the empirical domain of dvandva compounding in Spanish, and notes that they are productive when not used as heads within their phrases. We propose that the explanation for this is that Spanish can only productively build dvandva compounds using flat structures without internal hierarchy. This causes the compound to look externally for a head noun that defines the interpretation of the relation established between the two members of the dvandva. The proposal also explains why proper names is preferred in dvandva compounding, given that they do not denote properties